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| Lower lake at Glendalough |
Our final full day in Ireland involved visiting Kilkenny before passing through the Wicklow mountains to reach Glendalough and returning to Dublin.
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| Entrance gate to Glendalough |
Kilkenny is such a pretty city with cute little lanes, the
obligatory castle, great pubs and all the rest. It was only a brief stop and a
place to which we would love to return. The Wicklow mountains which we heard
about when we first started at Newgrange were simply stunning. The quartz and
some of the other huge stones used in the Newgrange passage tomb was
transported from the Wicklow mountains which was an amazing achievement. The
Wicklow mountains and the Wicklow Gap were beautiful as we passed through them
but we believe they would be simply breathtaking at the time when the heather
was in full bloom. This happens in late August apparently.
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| Stream at Glendalough - the serenity! |
Glendalough was the site that St Kevin set up a monastic
settlement in the 6th century. He certainly picked a wonderful spot
to ‘get away from it all’ and commune with nature to get close to God. Little
wonder that other people were attracted to him and the area and wanted to join
him. The community continued to develop around the Abbey and the church for
hundreds of years. We had always thought of the monasteries as full of
reclusive monks copying manuscripts and certainly some were like that, however
in many cases it was a complete community/village. The position of the Abbot
was often passed down from father to son and acted a little like the ‘mayor’.
Along with the Bishop to provide spiritual guidance and the CEO to manage the
affairs, the community was more like a corporation providing safety, education
and support for all. Many of these monasteries thrived in Ireland really
emphasising the idea of Ireland as the place of ‘Saints and Scholars’.
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| St Kevin's church Glendalough - all intact with the stone roof. |
Our tour concluded with an amazing Irish cabaret in Dublin
full of comedy, dancing, music and singing. Rob Vickers was the headline act
fresh from having time on West End playing the part of Jean Valjean in Les
Miserables. The comedian was hilarious having us in hysterics – although many
of the gags have been around for a while he just had such a presence and sense
of delivery that you couldn’t help but enjoy yourself. Add to this some amazing
musicians and spectacular Irish dancing (including a young boy and girl) and it
was a wonderful way to conclude the tour – of course the Irish Coffee didn’t
hurt either.
The following morning we flew out of Ireland and headed to
London. It was quite sad as the plane left Irish land, however we will return
because it has just been such a magical and beautiful time in the Emerald Isle.
After spending the equivalent of $100 Australian dollars on
train tickets (only to get from the airport around London) we picked up the
motor home and got ourselves fitted out and settled for the night at a
delightful little place on the Salisbury Plains. Now the UK adventure begins.
Elizabeth’s Addition:
As we flew away from Ireland yesterday, I was genuinely sad
to be leaving and already planning a much longer return some time in the future.
It is a truly magical place, despite it’s dark and tumultuous past, and there
is so much left for us to explore. There is so much I want to learn about all things Irish! We met some really lovely people, especially
those we shared the Globus Tour with (
Cheers to Robert and Barbara Smith and our tour director Angela) and the whole
experience has been wonderful. Cannot wait to return! It is however nice to be
back in our comfort zone of a very nice motor home exploring at our pace. 5
star hotels are OK for a week or so but this is more our style!
Love to all
S&E
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